Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-based parcel delivery services for commercial, private, and government applications have received heightened attention in recent years due largely to advancements in key supporting technologies. Corporate entities in particular continue to aggressively develop UAV-based parcel delivery systems under the pretense that market demand for UAV delivery services will entail point-to-point/short-range and low-weight payload delivery. In addition to parcel delivery, example UAV-based aerial applications include scientific data collection, search-and-rescue operations, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, and other applications requiring extended flight ranges and dwell times. As a result, such missions tend to rely on single fixed-wing UAV configurations having a specified onboard sensor suite. Other proposed configurations use a battery-powered multi-rotor design. While relatively lightweight, conventional rotary configurations exist, such configurations may result in inefficient flight operations, reduced flying ranges, and lower payload-carrying capabilities. Therefore, a need exists for long-range UAV-based aerial delivery systems and methodologies to collectively provide a distributed aerial presence.